NBC analyst Jeremy Roenick has looked at the complicated Western Conference playoff race and offers one simple prediction about Tuesday night's important San Jose vs. Dallas game.
By Brian Bahr, Getty Images
Jeremy Roenick says the Dallas Stars need the physcial play of Brendan Morrow, above, when they face the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday night.
By Brian Bahr, Getty Images
Jeremy Roenick says the Dallas Stars need the physcial play of Brendan Morrow, above, when they face the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday night.
"If Dallas can find a way to beat San Jose, (the Stars) will be in," Roenick said. "Dallas always plays San Jose very hard. They will need to play a physical, in-your-face, style of game."
That will be a challenging mission because the Sharks are 4-0-1 against Dallas this season. The Sharks beat Dallas 3-0 Saturday night
Roenick said the key for Dallas Tuesday night will be for physical Dallas players, such as Brendan Morrow, Steve Ott, Adam Burish among others, to be at their best.
"They have to get Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau off their game," Roenick said. "And Dallas goaltending has to be very good."
San Jose and Dallas each have three remaining games, and the Sharks have a one-point lead (90-89) on Dallas in the battle for eighth place. The seventh-place Phoenix Coyotes have 91 points, and they are home to play the hot Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday (10 p.m., ET). The Sharks' fate will undoubtedly come down to how they perform in a home-and-home series with Los Angeles on Thursday and Saturday.
Meanwhile, the Florida Panthers can wrap up their first playoff berth since 2000 Tuesday if they can win a home game against Winnipeg.
Here is a capsule look at these games:
Winnipeg at Florida (7:30 p.m., ET): If the Panthers win, they will have 93 points, which would give them the Southeast Division title and the No. 3 seed in the East. If No. 8 Washington wins its last two games, it can only reach 92 points. If Buffalo wins its last three games, it would also be at 92 points. The Panthers have lost three in a row, but they have points in eight of their last 10. Florida forward Tomas Fleischmann has 10 points in his past 10 games.
San Jose at Dallas (8:30 p.m., ET): Thornton has 15 points in the last 14 games for the Sharks, who are 6-4 in their last 10. The Stars have lost their last two games, and are 4-6 in their last 10. Morrow is having perhaps his worst NHL season with 25 points in 54. But he could wash away those numbers by leading the Stars into the playoffs.
Columbus at Phoenix (10 p.m., ET): The Blue Jackets, the NHL's last-place team, now have won three in a row. The Coyotes have points in seven of their last 10 games. At 39, Ray Whitney might be having the best season of his career with 75 points in 79 games.
For more information about
reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor
Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to
letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to
corrections.usatoday.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment